How to build a 2 Watt Tube Guitar amp for under $5 in tubes Unique 6CL6 design Cheap tunes 4 Free
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 22 ม.ค. 2022
- D-Lab is at it again. This time, How can you build a cool sounding heavy distortion low power amplifier on the cheap. Well, I believe I have hit it out of the park. The 6CL6 tube is a under appreciated tube for audio applications. I fell in love with its response after constructing this circuit. I believe it is the best sounding class A amp I have heard & designed. No need for pedals guys. This little firecracker will amaze you! Please keep in mind this is a concept/Novelty amp. I am constantly exploring options for kit building. IMPORTANT: Make sure to ground pins 5&6 on the 6AV6 tube! I discovered that they can pull in noise. Schematic is being updated. New REV coming out soon.
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I always get a kick out of these 'how to build for under dollar videos.
Of course if a person needed to buy all the parts involved it would cost several times that much. The video creator always has some of the parts on hand and then enumerates the cost of the additional parts they need to buy, usually underestimating those actual costs as well.
The titles of those video are misleading because they always state, 'how to'.. Well, they are not how to videos for other people, and would be more accurately titled, 'How I built for dollars', which would be more truthful, more useful. I do think that people clicking on the click bait title are thinking that they will be shown some secret on how they can save money, and find out they were wrong.
You are absolutely right 👍
I have the same filling in my mind. I was really disappointed when I watched this video
Wow.. This is one thing I feel society is slowly losing, the skills to build something great with your hands and brains. This amp is wonderful, and for that price.... Bravo
nah dude you couldn't be more wrong. never in the history of modern man has there been a better time to be a tinkerer / builder. Your average hobby person can make things your father could only get through a special order from a factory. I can 3DP a resin cured part in a matter of hours. It take 2 days to get the best soldering iron you can buy and any type of solder I want right to my door. I built a programmed my own drone with zero beforehand knowledge of electronics, soldering, or programming. Took a month of reading and watching youtube videos. Easier now than it has EVER been
I agree with you that it’s easier than ever before, however I get the same feeling as this guy that the general public are slowly losing touch with these skills. Shop classes don’t exist in most high schools anymore (at least in the US) for example. Personally I find it very hard to find certain fountains of knowledge like this man here, Google these days is unreliable for searching the web, there aren’t as many unique websites as there where 10-15 years ago Google keeps the stuff at the top that pays them ad revenue, forums outside of big websites like Reddit are dying. If I’m wrong please tell me
@@quistador7 Not saying the passionate individuals like yourself don't exist, just that the high majority of folks wouldn't know what to do with a hammer and a nail most of the time. Too many middle man jobs, maybe too many people also..
While less people might be building physical items, the access to doing so is still widely available to anyone willing to put the work in. Not to mention that coding is the 21st century type of handyman work. Same type of problem solving that someone like OP would be doing
@@BladeDoomer86 I didn't notice your name when I replied, I love all them witches I saw them a few years back in Boston when they played the middle east with plague vendor, one of the best shows I've ever been too. Lol if I had a buck for every time my band jammed on marriage of the coyote woman I'd probably have more money than Gates
Edit: and a MF DOOM pfp? Don't listen to what everyone else says about u, I think ur alright
That tuning is perfect for showing off the amp's distortion.
This sounds AMAZING. Building this immediately. Thank you so much for sharing.
Appreciate builders/designers finding uses for non typical tubes
Just found your channel, you have a great presence and there's something warm and welcoming about the way you present things! Thank you!
Excellent re-purpose of a vintage device which is beyond any utilization for other projects. Very Well done !
I really like the distortion you get from this, beautiful little amp, well done
Great stuff! Thanks for sharing your talents, D-Lab!
You have contributed to my continuing education. As a musician and a music teacher, I thank you. 🎶
Fabulous and very creative. Love that distortion.
As an amp builder, Electronics degree... etc... I really love this repurpose desings!! Thank you so much for sharing!
Terry - wonderful and beautiful little amp. That distortion does sound unique for sure. I would love to see Tony's reaction. Its ok to break strings, just don't break wine bottles. Excellent my friend.
I love this channel! Gives me inspiration to do something with my garage full of junk I've been collecting for 20 years (transformers, chassis, tubes etc.). I need to start building!
That’s awesome, and yeah that overdrive definitely sounds unique 👍🏼 good job sir
This is Excellent Terry! Great job!
Definitely has a nice tone. You’re awesome Terry D-Lab 👍🤘
Well, now that is pretty cool. I love the retro box it's in.
I'm impressed. With the distortion, my mind heard the opening of an arrangement for "The End" by The Doors following those two sets of 4 notes.
Awesome! One of these days, I may have to get around to building this. Very very cool.
That is pretty cool. I need to get into these kind of mini amp builds
Our vintage club had a amplifier build contest requiring tv tubes being used in the build . I used a 6EJ7 preamp and 6CL6 for output . 5 k output transformer and 330vdc on output tube .The amp played loud an clear . The 6EJ7 is a great alternate for the costly EF86 ,different pinout ,similar circuit components
Super cool, have long wanted to try some music gear DIY projects, now I have some ideas.
Thanks Terry! I'm saving this one for later!
Terry I just finished the 3 watt (6aq5) and it sounds really nice, and it didn't cost me very much. Thanks! I like that I can have a hobby that doesn't cost me a million dollars for each amp!
Terry, your channel is getting even better! Thanks for this video. And I'll email you a note asking for the schematic. Sounds fun!
Clean setting it chimed like a Vox! Another great vino build!
Great job Terry.
What a great sound, top work!!
Thanks Terry .You made my Day.
Great Job on this build!
Super cool and cute little amp that sounds good. Great job man!
Great video, thank you so so much for all your work!
That is sweet sounding! Am going to build!
Summoning another cool design and some good wine well done 👍
Great vid! Appreciate the alternatives (and I have boxes of old radio tubes)
Sounds pretty damn good Terry.
That sounds fantastic! Like the Yardbirds on rocket fuel. That is a great circuit Terry.
What a fun little project! I love the re-used Heathkit casework.
"Bottle with a straw..."..👍🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🍷
Good design... Nice distortion too!
Awesome sounding amp right there
Great little amp! I'm also working in some small power tube amps, one with a compactron 6AL11, and another one with a 6AV6 and an ECL82, a la Fender Princeton.
Extremely cool. Ive got to make this
How on earth have I yet to find this channel? This is the tinkering musicians DREAM!!!!!!!!
Especially one like myself that loves to rip stuff apart and figure out how it works.
Subscribed!!!!!
Definitely gonna be emailing for these schematics as I feel like this would be a perfect little amp for my home studio!!!
Sweet, man! Love it!
Awesome build
Looks like a fun build. It would be interesting to see a build like that using a compactron tube.
I have done electronics repair for years and being a guitar player I have always wanted to build my own amp. I have modded amps and guitars but never a full build. I have been looking at mojotone kits but after hearing this little gem I know what I want to do for a first build. Love this channel!
Same here. This is the year I build one
@@srvpoet Same 😎
Sounds really nice 👍
I love that the guitar is like, rocket science to someone so smart:)
Awesome! I can't wait to build one😄
Awesome. This looks like a lot of fun. I would go one step further and have an effects loop on it.
A slave out might be nice too.
Really cool little amp!!!!
Yep this little amp sounds great. I want one. 👍
Damn, I wish i had this kind of electrical knowledge 👍👍
Awesome, thanks Terry. One thing you never mention is what kind of speaker fills your shop cab. Really enjoy these "Do more with Less" builds.
Late to the party, but man this is a great sounding little amp! Definetly building one of these, such a great sound!
Great work
real nice job
Great video again.
Love the build! Don't worry about the string, guitar players break them all the time.
happen to randomly found a video from you and had to see how you did it i enjoyed the show and maybe someday ill build myself my own amp but i just got into guitar playing so im not doing any justice to any amp yet
Nice Terry, We can tell a lot just by a tuned even strum of any few chords and then run through the
guitar's pickup positions, Neck PU, tone up tone down. Bridge PU, tone up tone down. And then the same
with the switch in middle position which is both PU's together and vary the tone and volume to hear all the range
that the amp can do. As well speaker size and ohm is good to know. Nothing against Tony but I don't play
like he does, my Tele neck PU is used way more than the bridge and I like a full plush sound 70% of the time.
The soft strumming you did at first really caught my ear. I just wish I could have heard the tone range.
Anyway, great stuff and a good job.
Wow, your guitar playing has gotten so much better, I heard the MC5 needs a player.
Clean sound is awesome, the distortion is something for the avantgarde rockers out there.
Great little project Terry! During testing, I think you may have inadvertently written the intro to a new shoegaze classic.
Fantastic!
hi Terry, this is super cool, we have in Germany EBC91 pulled out from old radios. EL95 is here better to find, this is good for a 7pin socket amp. Best Regards Armin
Nice Big Brother... Love it if building own amp
Hi Terry. I have been following your TH-cam videos for quite a while now. I remember working with you back in our old Air Force days. VAFB. Anyway, I would love to get a copy of your Heath Kit Phone patch 6CL6 amp schematic. Looks like a fun little amp. Keep on Rockin'.
Now THAT is a unique amp! 😁
They can be built as extremely clean sounding. I made 2 SET monos to run two JBL pro compression horns that work best at 0.5w and paired with two 1000w ss monos for the 15' JbL clones. I do the distortion for sax on the input side of the usb interface.
Cool video
Thanks for showing this off, I'd like to build the circuit, haven't for many years, with tubes, and not much electronics build, since I retired, but this sounds good, and could be of use. Got to figure out this email thingy.
I've been thinking about building Robinette's Micro Champ, but this is intriguing. I'm thinking that power transformer could make it way cheaper - that's the main expense....It sounds dirty AF....Thanks for this!
Nice sounds like it got some heat
6CL6 - is a good tube. It is especially good as an alternative to EL84 PP. The main thing is not to exceed a voltage of more than 300V because of the second grid
Nice job on the circuit design and the repurposed chassis. I like the use of the 7 pin tubes, how about a design with a 6ak5 pentode into a 6c4 triode for preamp into a 6j6 long tail pair phase inverter to drive some 6aq5 power tubes? You must learn the song "Drinking Wine", you will be a star.
Thats great!
You said Ham Radio and Guitar amp in the same video. Subscribed!
This would be great for recording - mic in front of speaker, and as you said, not drive everyone out of the room. Thanks for sharing your creative work on this little guy! Many of classic rock's most famous songs were recorded using tiny amps cranked way up high (think "Layla", or Zeppelin I ). I may well build this just for that purpose!
Yes - I just built a Champ clone, cost about $350 just for chassis parts and tubes. Hammond xfmrs. $150 alone!. You could do this with a little Antek Torroid for under 40. I'm going to do it!
I enjoyed your vid on this two watt guitar amp.I have an idea for you:use an old Califone speaker box that had a 12" speaker.Another speaker box to use would be an old Victor or Bell and Howell.If I could send it to you,I have the cabinet from a '47 Stewart Warner.The cabinet is wood.
Nice little project. Really appreciate the work you put in! Funny sidenote: here in germany none of these tubes are available under 10,- Euro each...
Would love the schematic and a BOM if you have one! Sounds pretty unique and very good to me. Thanks!
I just looked up prices for 6AV6 @ 3.00 to 6.00 dollars a piece. The 6 CL6 was found @ 5.95 and higher. Still cheaper than other tubes but none were found at a dollar s piece. Maybe yard sales if you are lucky. Flea markets usually don't have vintage electronics. Ham shows I don't know I usually miss the ones in our area. Buyer keep looking. Amplifier kits are usually cheaper than buying piece by piece electronics. 73
Clever design considering the old Heathkit cabinet but is very hard to find except maybe at a swap. Sound is very hot and
so good for a class A amp. Time to learn some guitar chords like Colleen Fazio ❤does after working on a build
Terry.😉 Bottle of wine with a straw indeed!🍾😂🤣
Yeah, thought I got lucky and found one on a local online marketplace, but the guy had already sold it on the side and forgot to delete the listing...
I like it!
Terry, you should have a simple reamp box and feed it with some nice guitar DI signal played by some volunteer professional guitar player. The same nice riff or sample every time which we are familiar. You have some DAW in your PC? Just plug in that DI signal through a reamp box to your fixed amp everytime in a same level.
Awesome 👊😁
You really need to invest in a looper - an effect pedal ( around $40 used) that one of your friends can record on and you can play it thru any project for demonstration purposes. Absolutely ;ove your videos. Keep 'em comin'.
6CU5 is another one. Miniature version of the 6W6 which itself is a 6v version of the 25L6/50L6. It does need more filament current, though, than the 6CL6.
Great!! Ive been looking around for a tiny fully valve amp for a while! Not easy to find!
I commented on the other video, just an update. I'm cooking a 6dt6, @ 450v (300max, 🤣) 2x8ohm drivers and 16r into a 5500 6v6 output so the load resistance is around 22000ohms...no redplate, little distortion at the high-end....wish I had an ocilloscope. This thing is killer!
Dude! I love your repurposed amplifiers I also repurpose amplifiers and I have three stage-right monoprice manufactured 15 watt tube amps that are crap! Since you are a fellow michigander I will contact you through normal channels to acquire populated circuit boards and transformers so I can create proper guitar amps out of them
Exelent to practice at home
Nice !!
New sub here... great clean build.
I really like using the IEC jack for the power cord, it solves the problem of what to do with the cord. I also like using the single triode tubes, especially if I only need 1 more triode in the circuit. The old Bassman AB-165 that I had used a 12AX7 in a circuit that only used 1 side of the tube. I always wondered about why Fender did that...
I have a couple of Bogan CHB-35 S chassis to work on, but they're way louder than this little amp of yours. I need to scrounge around for some parts for a tiny amp build like this.
I love triodes, because they are simple. You can really see what's going on in the circuit...
Cool! I wish I wasn’t electronically “challenged”. I have a little Fender Greta 2 watt tube amp that I would love to re-house into an old Ampro speaker cabinet, but I’m afraid I’ll screw something up just moving it over and wiring it to a different speaker.
I love finding overlooked tubes to use in builds. I commonly use 6CM6, 12AB5 and 12V6 as subs for the ubiquitous 6V6. I generally get NOS tubes for 6-7 each from Antique Electronic Supply. Cheap preamp tubes are a lot harder, though I have paired up a 12SC7 with a 12V6 to make a 5C2 Fender Princeton close and it sounds great. I got both tubes with shipping for about $15. I did have to use seperate transformers for HT and filliment, but I managed to keep the whole build to about $150 including speaker and cabinet.
How would you go about finding the power and output Transformers for his build? I built a 5 F1 before but it had a part number so finding the Transformer was very easy but I am a novice and do not know how to find a Transformer without the part number. What would you search for?
@@cameronstolhand7149 the output transformer is all about impedence and wattage. For this one you need a 7k primary, and the secondary would be whatever speaker you're using. The easiest would probably be a hammond 125 series since they are "universal" transformers. They have a series of 6 taps for the secondary and you choose which to use based on a chart they supply. They come in several different watt ratings for both single ended and push pull. As for a power transformer, you'll just have to browse through manufacturers' websites looking at transformer specs. This project used a 440v center tapped HT winding @30mA and requires about 1A on the filliment. I know the Hammond 269GX is about right voltage-wise, but rated at twice the current. Looking at other manufacturers you might be able to find a closer match.
@@jcool0122 Thanks for the reply. What's that part coming off the Transformer that says "WLO6 Bridg"?
@@cameronstolhand7149 that is a 4 diode bridge rectifier. You can make one out of 4 1N4007 diodes if you have those on hand.
@@jcool0122 Thanks!👍